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The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Swingin’ spider shatters records

Published 2002-05-08T00:00:00Z”/>

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“Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can …” Ah, if only that were true. As one would expect, we get to see Spider-Man leap off of buildings, perch atop gargoyles miles above traffic and glide between skyscrapers on nothing more than a delicate thread. While all of these effects are tolerable if you manage to distract yourself enough with the strong acting and story-line, “Spider-Man,” does not do action all that well.

Director Sam Raimi hits so many of the right chords with his adaptation of the popular Marvel comic-book superhero’s story that the lackluster computer graphics seem all the more lacking.

“Spider-Man” is a well-done movie in many respects (and the blockbuster box-office sales prove, so far, that many people agree). The strange thing with this film, though, is that it looks as if someone forgot to fine-tune the graphics to keep them on equal par with the extensively developed characters.

Instead of 2002-quality, mind-blowing special effects, we get computer-generated ones that look like something out of a dated video game. When Spidey flies through the air, landing on one rooftop and then bounding to another, his unnatural movements prove distracting enough to take us out of the exhilaration we so desperately want to feel.

In all of the other (non-action) scenes in “Spider-Man” we are right there, sufficiently drawn into the lives and loves of the main characters. In the part of Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man), Tobey Maguire proves an inspired choice and the perfect fit for our reluctant hero. With his every-man appearance, meek voice and mild manner, Maguire is the perfect personification of the nerdy Parker. An orphan being raised by his loving Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Parker is also an outcast at school, pining silently for the woman of his dreams, the lovely Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst).

Mary Jane, or MJ as she is most commonly referred to as, is the girl next door (literally) who also happens to be popular and blind to poor Parker’s longings.

Parker’s only real friend, however, is Harry Osborn (James Franco), whose father, Norman Osborn (the mesmerizing Willem Dafoe), is the filthy-rich head of Oscorp, a “key supplier of advanced weapons to the Pentagon.”

Norman Osborn turns into our token villain, the Green Goblin. Strange and extremely creepy, this “Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde” character is a terrifying and unpredictable menace. Perhaps he is so convincing as a threat because his human alter ego is Parker’s best friend’s father.

However, the glue that holds this film together is the touching love story and the amazing chemistry between Dunst and Maguire. At times maybe a bit hokey, the good guys (and girls) are likeable throughout the story so much that they can almost do no wrong. We want the sweet Parker/Spider-Man to get the girl and save the day point-blank, end of story. When you know so clearly who you want to succeed in a story, and you care what happens to just about all of the characters, it makes any lacking qualities fade into the background.

As opposed to the dark, gothic look and feel that became a staple of the “Batman” movies, “Spider-Man” goes in the complete other direction, thus making it unique.

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